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28 November 2011

Reminders and Dairy Free Desserts?

Have you checked out Home Depot's ways to go green? Also, I'm giving my lettuce one more week to grow before I attack it. ;) I'm off dairy to see if it helps little Drummer to sleep better. Talk about torture. Seriously. Ryan tries really hard to make sure I have some sort of treat, but I'd rather be eating his homemade chocolate pudding than butter-less popcorn. Have any dairy-free desserts to share? Please do. Please. Otherwise, I'll consider my homegrown lettuce a treat.

53 comments:

Pillsbury ready made pie crust is dairy free so add some apples covered in sugar and you're good. Also you can do butter flavored pam spray on your popcorn with a seasoning. That is what Weight Watchers suggests. There is also a lot of dairy free stuff online. Good luck. Myself and my girlfriends have to go dairy free for our little ones too. :D

I had to do the same thing for my daughter three years ago (she turned out to have a full blown dairy allergy that persists today) and I became so used to eating without dairy that I continue to do so today. Anything you make with dairy can be made without. Almond milk is great for making desserts-- as is coconut or rice milk. Soy creamer gives you a thicker consistency if you need that. I used it in my mashed potatoes for thanksgiving! Earth Balance natural buttery spread is the only margarine that is completely dairy free... and it is delicious! I use it for baking, toast, cooking (and popcorn!). You don't have to live without anything. Even my Wisconsin bred, dairy loving husband has switched to rice milk in his coffee. You won't miss dairy a bit!Good luck Mam!

Bummer on the lack of dairy. Wish I had some suggestions, but most of me recipes use butter at the very least. I've got a good peanut butter cookie recipe if you want it...let me know. We spray our popcorn with Pam (butter flavor) so it tastes all buttery and delicious without the calories. Hope little Drummer starts sleeping better and you find some yummy treats!

Carolina is right...it's easier than you think. Except with cheese. There is no GOOD replacement for cow's milk cheese, in my opinion... However, recipes that use cheese as a garnish can usually be great with the addition of some other flavors. (Add more spices to potatoes, olives and avocado to tacos, hummus to your corn chips.)

With almond milk, rice milk, and coconut milk (we don't do soy) our dairy sensitive family has lots of options for ice cream, yogurt, milk-on-your-cereal, etc. Do you have a health food store nearby?

Coconut milk kefir is an awesome replacement for buttermilk. We actually do butter still, because there is so little of the milk protein in it, but buying or making your own ghee (easy-peasy--google it) is a great way to use butter without having to deal with the sugars or proteins. (You might be able to do buttered popcorn after all!)

Amazingly, water works just as well as milk in a lot of baked goods. Use rice milk for cake frosting, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs. When I'm making baked goods that require cream, I do a combination of rice milk with some olive oil to keep the flavor that fat adds.

Try a smoothie using a bag of frozen mangoes and a can of coconut milk. (Add sweetener after, if you like.) Divine. It's like mango ice cream. Minus the pain for baby.

Seriously good stuff! You can't let it sit in the freezer, you have to make a fresh batch each time, but it is so easy so it doesn't matter. One more suggestion, have you tried taking enzymes? It made all the difference for Spencer.

I eliminated dairy with my middle kiddo and now I have my youngest off dairy all together. There are lots of yummy treats out there. Do you have a Trader Joe's? I used to buy their chocolate soy ice cream and that was yummy. There is a good dairy free Orville Redenbachers naturals popcorn (lightly salted-I only find it at Wal-mart) that my son says is "extra buttery" with no butter. You can also cook with spectrum coconut oil in place of butter (you don't need a lot so you will have to experiment). I use it in everything from brownies to pancakes. We also use vanilla rice milk as a substitute. Diary sneaks up into everything. I think a trip to a natural food store or the specialty section will have you quite surprised with your options. Good luck!

i did no dairy or soy when nursing my 2 boys. believe it or not, oreos are ok. and coconut milk makes a great substitute for milk in most recipes. hang in there and remember that this is a temparary change. :)

Hi! I love Daiya cheese shreds for pizza, there's a cookie dough coconut milk ice cream that's to die for, and almond milk ice cream bites are awesome. Earths balance non dairy butter is the way to go... be very wary of checking labels on everything as even margarine and fake cheese have dairy by-products in them. Vanilla almond milk or dark chocolate are my choice to just drink or have on cereal as soy starts to taste funny after a bit. I have been dairy/egg free for 11 months now and never thought it would've been possible as I used to eat dairy and eggs all the time. But, we are eating a lot better now that I have to cook from scratch mostly... as some of the ready made vegan stuff is great but costs a lot more to buy than to make. Oh, we are egg free as the GI doc says that the egg proteins are similar to the dairy proteins that babes have sensitivities to. I have a whole bunch of awesome desert and bread recipes I can send you if you email me at

happyyellowball at hotmail dot com

ones that mostly you would never think they were dairy/egg free to taste them. I will try to come back and leave you a few links too though.

If you need a sweet treat that's dairy free, SoDelicious brand makes a chocolate soy ice cream that's one of my favorite chocolate ice creams period...dairy or not. If you want something light, get a can of regular coconut milk and put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, open it up and take off the thick part on top - you can use this to make a completely natural dairy-free whipped cream. I love it on whole wheat waffles with fresh berries or homemade berry syrup, on coffee, or on a spoon. Also, baked chick peas/garbanzo beans are a great snack to make in place of popcorn, and are great either savory or sweet.

what you need is to goggle vegan recipes. particularly ones by Dreena Burton... they are dairy free, delicious AND pretty healthy. my two fave cookbooks are EAt, Drink and Be Vegan; and Vive le Vegan, both by Dreena. Isa Chandra Mosowitz and Terry Hope Romero kick ass in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World as well... but anways, vegan recipes are the way to go... written by people who have been dairy free for a long time, they are already yummy :)

Vanilla almond milk is my fave substitute for use in baking and on cereal/oatmeal. coconut is fab in hot chocolate and ice creams. not sure if they have it in the states, but Becel also makes a vegan variety that i think tastes better than Earth Balance.

this is not as hard as you think ;) get yourself to a natural foods store and ask the staff what their recommendations are :)

A scrumptious lava cake (also for diabetics!): http://www.ricardocuisine.com/recipes/3545-chocolate-hazelnut-lava-cake . There is butter in it, but I'm lactose-intolerant and haven't had any problem... Or, as people have previously said, there are substitutes that you can use! Enjoy!

Here we go ha ha...here's a few, and I'm pretty sure we've had all of these and they are fabulous! Oh the substitutions for the lactation cookies are 1/2 cup silken tofu in place of the eggs and use half earth balance non dairy butter and 1/2 spectrum shortening for the butter replacement. I lessen the amount of sugar and add whatever I feel like....last time was a half a cup of shredded coconut. Oh, you have to either buy the bakers german chocolate bar and cut it into chunks, or there is a brand that makes non dairy chocolate chips and chunks but I don't remember the brand off hand. Hope this helps, I know it's overwhelming when you have to cut out a whole food group!

http://www.egglesscooking.com/2008/11/14/vegan-cranberry-nut-bread/

this fudge is so wonderfully fantastic, and everyone else was doubting it was vegan ha ha

http://onceamonthmom.com/gluten-free-dairy-free-fudge/

awesome cake, although I haven't tried the glaze...just made some icing using earth balance, powdered sugar and vanilla and soy creamer

I found this cake in a mug recipe through pinterest and I've made it like everyday since I found it...so good. I do make mine gluten free (because we are) but I'm sure you could substitute all-purpose flour for the gluten free flour. I also use brown sugar instead of the sugar substitute but I made it with coconut milk and was very pleased.

Earth Balance makes a passable butter substitute called Vegan Golden Butter Sticks, and I use it for butter all the time in cookies and cakes.Also, I substitute Rice Dream for milk. I have made some delicious cakes using regular recipes and (mostly) people can't tell the difference and I can have the sweet things which I crave but cannot eat due to a dairy allergy.

Much depends on whether you are dealing with a full blown dairy ALLERGY or just a sensitivity. (Both mean you have to avoid dairy, and both totally stink - don't get me wrong - it's just that with a sensitivity you can get away with things like ghee, whereas with a full blown allergy you can't because ANY trace of milk protein can cause problems, sometimes severe ones).

My little guy has dairy and egg allergies, and they are finding now that kids with milk issues can trigger to soy pretty quickly too so I can't use any of that stuff (or eat it, since I'm nursing still). With baking I've found that I can actually replace butter with 1/2 shortening and 1/2 coconut oil. It sounds kinda nutty but if you refrigerate the coconut oil first it gets hard, and will behave quite a bit like butter if you are trying to cream it or whatever.

My current favourite dairy free dessert is the cookies that Dana from MADE posted not too long ago - the dark chocolate pomegranate cookies. I use the shortening the way she describes, and replace the butter with cold coconut oil. Make sure that the chocolate chips you buy are really dark chocolate (so no milk - read the ingredients carefully!) They are great though and really make the sweet thing a little easier to deal with.

One thing I've learned is that even a tiny trace of milk protein in me can have a really big effect on Sam - he does have a full blown allergy, but it's shocking really. At almost 18 months old if I even have an M&M - a single one - and then nurse him, that milk protein can have an effect on him for up to 10 days. So even when you think "Eh, I just nursed him, I'm not going to feed him for like 3 hours and it's a tiny little bite of whatever" it may still be affecting him. (I offer that only as some anecdotal advice, in case you are not seeing the kind of improvement in him you were hoping to...if you "cheat" once in awhile, even in tiny amounts, you may not see a change).

Feel free to email me if you have any more questions about this - we only learned about Sam's allergies this past summer so everything is fairly fresh in my mind and I'm definitely working it out as I go. Good luck...

i echo all the above suggestions of pillsbury pie crust, earth balance (also comes in sticks) for a butter substitute, rice and almond milks for baking, etc. I use nutritional yeast to sprinkle on my popcorn for a cheesy flavor (and it's really good for you!)

there's a great cream cheese subsitute (made by tofutti - i use the nonhydrogenated version)... but yeah, there's NO good cheese. sick.

you can email me with questions - i know a lot of people have offered, but i'm always open to helping people adapt to this challenge.

Looks like you've got a whole lot of dairy free suggestions already, but I wanted to mention that my friend Amy is currently dairy free for the same reason you are (her reason is named Jack) and she just recently posted about the dairy free version of the holiday classic, pumpkin pie!

My family has been on a very restricted diet for a while now, and that includes no dairy. However, I was blessed to have someone mention a raw food diet to me - and have gleaned several great recipes from that suggestion.

I have made this cheesecake 3 times, and it is FANTASTIC!!!! You would never guess that it's dairy free: http://wholefamilyfare.blogspot.com/2011/01/raw-cashew-cheesecake.html

oh man. I developed a dairy allergy with my pregnancy and still have it - was sensitive my whole life. So that means absolutely ZERO dairy for me.I also do egg free...snickerdoodles http://thecraftingfiend.blogspot.com/2011/11/making-egg-and-dairy-free.html

I also have found diaya "cheese" to be awesome, enjoy life is what I use for chocolate chips, vanilla rice milk I find easiest on the stomach - no dairy and easier to digest than the almond milk. vanilla tastes the most like normal milk and can be used for savories.

Hello. I have a 3 yr. old that is allergic to dairy (plus wheat, soy, eggs & peanuts) so it's tough to find yummy treats for his palate. He does love the So Delicious yogurts, coconut milk and ice cream that is dairy free. There is a dairy free cheese Daiya Mozzeralla Style Shreds that melts (some dairy free cheese won't melt). Compared to other dairy free cheeses the taste is decent yet a bit salty. For the butter replacement, you can also use Earth Balance Natural Spread (soy free) that is very good. If you're little one has an allergic reaction to dairy he could possibly have other food allergies.

It's tough. I completely understand :) I echo the godairyfree.org. It's a life saver! Also, I have a recipe for a dairy free chocolate ice cream on my blog: http://safemealideas.blogspot.com/ that is amazing (along with some other recipes and ideas, but the ice cream is amazing!! It's what I use to convince people that say we don't eat yummy food because of B's allergy)

My girl is very lactose intolerant, and I've just now started looking for desserts. I saw this Apple-Molasses Spice Cake a couple weeks ago, and it's on my to make list, but I have not made it yet. It's real ingredients, which makes me happy.

My daughter is dairy free, and it can be tricky! Guittard chocolate chips are dairy free, so use those with butter flavored crisco (also dairy free) to make any of your favorite cookies. We especially love pumpkin chocolate chip. She also loves the Haagen Dazs sorbets. Oreos are dairy free, too. :)

Almond milk is a good milk alternative, and you can even find it fortified so you aren't missing out on calcium. Good luck!

Earth Balance is a life saver. My 4 year old has a life threatening dairy allergy, so we avoid dairy like the plague! Either the tub (original, not whipped) or the sticks can be used just like butter in any recipe. It's better for you than crisco, since it's all non-hydrogenated oils.

Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips are also dairy free.

Baking is all chemistry, every dairy centric recipe can be tweaked without changing taste or texture.

Smart Balance is dairy free! My son is allergic to cow's milk, but not goat's milk. Some desserts can be made by substituting the goat's milk... I don't like the flavor of goat's milk but I find in things that are baked the "goatiness" is gone in the finished product. Even the custard I made with it was palatable. Meyenberg Farms sells goat's milk in powdered form so you only make up what you need and don't end up with expensive milk souring in the fridge because you needed a cup for a recipe. You can order it through Amazon.com.

If Drummer has an actual allergy to whey or casein goat's milk won't be a good option for you. Eli is allergic to something in cow's milk, but not those things. Some babies are just sensitive to cow's milk and goat's milk is much easier to digest.

Looks like you have lots of ideas. :) So Delicious has some chocolate ice cream that is to die for. They also have something called Coconut Milk Beverage that is an excellent milk replacer in any recipe and nobody will be the wiser. Nut milks are good too, especially if you make them yourself.

My daughter can't have milk (of any kind) or soy, hasn't since she was a newborn. She is 4 now and she is getting less sensitive. Hopefully she will grow out of it soon. Good luck!

I have to get off dairy throughout my pregnancies, and coconut milk "ice cream" is a wonderful substitute for the real thing. Also tapioca pudding made with almond milk is so good you won't feel like you are missing a thing!

Earth Balance Vegan Butter is a good dairy free butter substitute for baking and even popcorn. Although I make popcorn in a pot with a little oil and nutritional yeast and it doesn't even need butter! Made chocolate chip cookies tonight completely vegan (so many recipes online) My husband make yummy coconut ice cream using with Thai coconut cream powder, sugar and water. Throw it into our ice cream maker...sooo yummy!

I had to do that with my youngest...She's now nearly two. Turns out that dairy wasn't the problem...she just had serious colic. Yep. Breastfed baby with horrible colic. NOTHING helped...except me walking around with her in a figure 8 pattern while simultaneously doing a light bounce/booty pat. That was the longest 5 months of my life. I really hope the results of the non-dairy eating are much better for you and little Drummer than they were for me/us!

Look here http://pinterest.com/stkavdiel/food/ , I've collected many recipes there and a lot of them are dairy free because I can't eat dairy as well.

For example:http://pinterest.com/pin/152418768608426445/http://pinterest.com/pin/152418768608431056/http://pinterest.com/pin/152418768608448038/http://pinterest.com/pin/152418768608458124/http://pinterest.com/pin/152418768608458125/

My son was allergic to milk and we didn't know until he was diagnosed at 9 months old. i ate a lot of dairy and nursed him. he was my first son, so i thought all the symptoms were simply differences between girls and boys. His symptoms were: he didn't sleep longer than an hour and a half at a time, he slept better when we held him, he was comforted by nursing (of course, we didn't know that the dairy i ate was hurting him), and i had to bounce him a lot when i held him. his diapers were never foamy or mucus-y until the morning he was diagnosed (and, not coincidentally, a morning after i ate a *huge* bowl of ice cream). not thinking anything of the diaper that morning, i introduced cheese (cultured dairy), but he had an all-out anaphalactic reaction to the cheese and he didn't even swallow any; it just went in his mouth and he spit it out!

After he was diagnosed, I decided to keep nursing him and went off dairy for 14 months. I saw a difference in his crying and sleeping at around the one-week-off-dairy mark and then the changes were incredible at 2 weeks! He slept and was just so different: a happier baby :) It does take 2 weeks for the milk proteins to completely leave your system, I've read.

At 7 years old, he was declared allergy-free, but he is still highly lactose intolerant two years after being declared allergy-free.

All the advice about dairy-free recipes, ingredients, etc. has all been great.

I went dairy free for a while because one of my babies got hives from eating yogurt and I was still breastfeeding. I loved vanilla Silk on Frosted Mini Wheats, but that is really more of a breakfast.

For treats, I made cookies and things just substituting dairy free margarine for the butter. The margarine I bought is Nucoa brand. It was the cheapest and still dairy free. Sometimes it's helpful to look for the Kosher certification "Parve" or "Pareve" (contains neither meat nor dairy) when you're shopping for dairy free margarines.

The chocolate chips I bought were from Smith's (Kroger) and the brand was FMV.

Arg! We've been dairy free here since my son was 4 months old and I feel your pain. A blog I wished I'd discovered 2 years ago is www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com, and I promise not all her recipes are chocolate. They are all, however, delicious, easy and vegan, which for us means good to go! I found that searching vegan instead of dairy free led me to many more options. Also, I don't know if you've had to do the dairy free thing before, but for me, I had to cut out EVERY trace of dairy for it to work. Good luck and your little man is lucky have such a dedicated mom!

I did not read all the above posts, so sorry if I am repeating anything! I had to go dairy/soy free for child #2, #3 and #4 (who I have also eliminated gluten, yeast, eggs, & corn...but hey, happy baby!!!) Anyways, it gets easier! If he has an issue withe the dairy protein like you suspect, a soy protein sensitivity usually comes hand in hand. As for desserts... In the store bought catagory: oreos, "so delicious" coconut ice cream (fantastic!!!), some semi-sweet chocolate chips, and most anything Duncan HInes! If you live anywhere near a Trader Joe's things get even better! As for homemade stuff: I replace butter with shortening in my cookies (I know not super healthy, but I make cookies ALL the time!!). Make sure to do a little research, as there is dairy "hidden" in many foods (most deli meats). Anyways I hope some of this helps! If I think of anything else I will pass it your way! If you so desire, feel free to email me with any questions! ashley d stout at gmail dot com

The Larry and Luna chocolate coconut bliss bars are better than fudgesicles. Seriously. The Trader Joe's soy chocolate ice cream bars are way better than the tofutti ones and the Silk almond milk is better than most of the rest of the non-dairy milk substitutes available (their soy nog is pretty good too). Oil crusts for pie are flaky and delicious even without the butter flavor. Oh, and lactic acid is made from corn, not dairy.I'm currently way into dairy/wheat-free peanut butter cookies:1/2 cup peanut butter1/2 cup sugar (brown sugar is good too)1 eggMix together, plop out 1Tablespoon hunks of dough on parchment or oiled cookie sheet, cook 10-15 minutes at 350f (until they're not gooey on the outside anymore) allow to cool on the cookie sheet. They're sweet and chewy with a little crunch at the edges and are the best cookie I've had in ages.